Circulating blood cells, such as erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets and lymphocytes, arise from the terminal differentiation of precursor cells, in a process referred to as hematopoiesis. In fetal life, hematopoiesis occurs throughout the reticular endothelial system. In the normal adult, terminal differentiation of the precursor cells occurs exclusively in the marrow cavities of the axial skeleton, with some extension into the proximal femora and humeri. These precursor cells, in turn, derive from immature cells, called progenitors, stem cells or hematopoietic cells.
Hematopoietic progenitor cells have therapeutic potential as a result of their capacity to restore blood and immune cell function in transplant recipients as well as their potential ability to generate cells for other tissues such as brain, muscle and liver (Choi, 1998 Biochem Cell Biol 76, 947-56; Eglitis and Mezey, 1997 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94, 4080-5; Gussoni et al., 1999 Nature 401, 390-4; Theise et al., 2000 Hepatology 32, 11-6). Human autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation methods are currently used as therapies for diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases. For these procedures a large amount of donor bone marrow must be isolated to ensure that there are enough cells for engraftment. Hematopoietic progenitor cell expansion for bone marrow transplantation is a potential method for generating human long-term bone marrow cultures for these therapeutic utilities. Several studies have reported the isolation and purification of hematopoietic progenitor cells (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,620), but none of these methods have been overwhelmingly successful.
Determining the basis for progenitor cell localization is important to maximizing the therapeutic potential of those cells. During development, hematopoiesis translocates from the fetal liver to the bone marrow, which then remains the site of hematopoiesis throughout adulthood. Once hematopoiesis has been established in the bone marrow, the hematopoietic progenitor cells are not distributed randomly throughout the bone cavity. Instead, the hematopoietic progenitor cells are found in close proximity to the endosteal surfaces (Lord et al., 1975, Blood, 46:65-72; Gong et al., 1978, Science, 199:1443-1445), an observation recently confirmed when injected purified hematopoietic progenitor cells were found to preferentially localize to the endosteal surfaces approximately 10 hours following injection (Nilsson, et al., 2001, Blood, 97:2293-2299). The more mature progenitor cells (as measured by their CFU-C activity) increased in number as the distance from the bone surface increased. Finally, as the central longitudinal axis of the bone is approached, it has been shown that terminal differentiation of mature cells occurs (Lord et al., 1975, Blood, 46:65-72; Cui et al., 1996, Cell Prolif., 29:243-257; Lord et al., 1990, Int. J. Cell Clon., 8:317-331).
Given the relationship between the hematopoietic progenitor cells and the endosteal surfaces of the bone, one cell type that has been implicated in playing a role in hematopoiesis is the osteoblast (Taichman and Emerson, 1998, Stem Cells, 16:7-15). Osteoblastic cells are skeletal cells responsible for the production and mineralization of bone matrix, in response to local and hormonal stimuli (Ducy, et al., 2000, Science, 289:1501-1504). In addition, these cells regulate bone remodeling by modulating the formation and activity of osteoclasts, bone-resorbing cells of hematopoietic origin, through the RANK/RANK-Ligand system (Teitelbaum et al., 2000, Science, 289:1504-1508). Studies have demonstrated that osteoblastic cells can support the growth of primitive hematopoietic cells, through the release of G-CSF and other growth factors (Taichman and Emerson, 1994, J. Exp. Med., 179:1677-1682; Taichman et al., 1996, Blood, 87:518-524; Taichman et al., 2001, Br. J. Haematol., 112:438-448).
The ability to manipulate progenitor cells could improve the efficiency of engraftment of transplanted cells. Currently, transplantation techniques are extremely inefficient. In view of their enormous therapeutic potential relatively little is known about how hematopoietic progenitor cells are regulated, e.g., what factors cause cell localization, expansion, etc. Some studies have suggested that progenitor cell localization into the bone marrow space is chemokine dependent. For instance, the absence of either SDF-1 or its receptor, CXCR-4, was found to preclude localization of hematopoiesis in the bone marrow in developing mice (Nagasawa et al., 1996, Nature, 382:635-8; Su et al., 1999, J Immunol., 162:7128-7132; Zou et al., 1998, Nature, 393:595-9). In addition, manipulation of CXCR-4 alters the homing and retention of progenitors in adult mice further supporting its critical role (Ma et al., 1999, Immunity, 10:463-71; Peled et al., 1999, Science, 283:845-8). Selectins and integrins are also believed to participate in this process and have been identified as mediators of retention or adhesion of primitive cells to bone marrow in vivo or in vitro (Greenberg et al., 2000, Blood, 95:478-86; Naiyer et al., 1999, Blood, 94:4011-9; Rood et al., 1999, Exp. Hematol., 27:1306-14; van der Loo et al., 1998, J. Clin. Invest. 102:1051-61; Williams et al., 1991, Nature, 352:438-41; Zanjani et al., 1999, Blood, 94:2515-22). These studies, however, have not provided a complete understanding of progenitor cell localization.
Understanding exogenous signaling molecules which may contribute to the expansion of the progenitor cell population is important to defining therapeutic procedures.